ANTI-POLLUTION BOARD ASKS NCR CITIES TO FOCUS ON DUST CONTROL

GURUGRAM: Amid the rising air pollution levels, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has asked all the deputy commissioners of NCR districts in the state to focus on dust containment in their respective districts.

On Saturday, Gurugram’s air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category for the second consecutive day, with an air quality index (AQI) of 325, as per the data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

On Friday, the city had recorded an AQI of 334 (‘very poor’) owing to increased PM2.5 level in the air.

The HSPCB’S move comes after the Environment Pollution ( Prevention and Control) Authority (Epca) warned of further deterioration in air quality for the next two days.

In all likelihood, the situation is likely to prevail for the next two days as per the predictions made by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which Epca shared with the state pollution board.

On October 23, Jai Bhagwan, senior scientist at HSPCB, issued a letter to all the deputy commissioners of national capital region (NCR) districts of Haryana, asking them to take precautionary measures.

“Epca issued a red alert on further worsening of air quality based on the IMD forecast. So, districts have been asked to control dust pollution, and vehicular and industrial pollution. We have asked them to take strict precautionary measures under Graded Response Action Plan ( Grap) to at least prevent air quality from getting into ‘severe’ category’,” said Bhagwan.

According to him, in Gurugram, dust is a major contributor of air pollution. “Dust pollution is due to excessive construction activity in the city. Constriction material lies uncovered, and construction and demolition (C&D) waste is dumped along roadside. So, we have directed the district to increase water sprinkling in dust-prone areas and use anti-smog guns at construction sites,” he said.